I have a few questions regarding names. Firstly, is it common for immigrants (from Italy) to change their names to sound more American-like. For instance, on the 1910 Census, my g-grandfather stated his name as Tony (apposed to Antonio); his brother as Alphonse; his brother-in-law and sister-in-law as Joseph and Elizabeth (instead of Giuseppe and Isabella).

Additionally, what is the Italian version of the name "Ralph" and of "Jane"?

And, which of these spelling is the correct Italian version (seeing as one is probably an American version): Greico or Grico ?

Thankyou so very much suanj and wldspirit, your help has been most amazing.

One more question, though, (sorry!) - Is Julina an Italian named? An ancestor-in-law of mine was called, on her dughter obituary in America, Concetta Julina. Would this name just be an Ameriacante version of Giovanna perhaps? (seeing as one of her daughters was called Giovanna "Jenny"...).

There are many examples of Italians changing their surnames to sound like English names during the late 1800s and early 1900s as they settled in the U.S., for a variety of reasons. For instance, I knew of two brothers, one who's last name was Verticchio and other who's last name was Verton. Verton had changed has name at the request of his German-American fiancee. Others, it has been documented, changed their names at Ellis Island because of fear of prejudice. Unbeknownst to many of the American's these days, Italian immigrants suffered under racism. A lynching of Italians in New Orleans during the turn of the 19th century still is considered the worst mass lynching of any ethnic group in the history of the U.S. In that case, locals turned against the new Italians because it was perceived that they had cornered the market in importation of produce. In violence related to that issue, a large group of Italians were put on trail, and jailed during the trial for projection. They were acquitted, which incensed the locals, and a growing mob took the men away from the custody of the authorities and publicly hanged them.

The typical Italian lineage dates from circa 1600, and for most of us that's reasonably profound. But who wants to be "typical" when you might be able to trace a lineage into the 1500s or even into the Middle Ages? Because success in this field requires practice and perseverance, as well as skills m...

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